Party workers and residents gathered under umbrellas, brandishing placards and chanting slogans that called for the allocation of funds and the immediate commencement of the underbridge works, despite the downpour that marked the demonstration.
CPI(M) state secretariat member Ch. Babu Rao, who took part in the protest, said Vambay Colony was established for the urban poor more than two decades ago, yet the promised railway underbridge remains unbuilt, forcing residents of Vambay Colony, Ajit Singh Nagar, Payakapuram and nearby areas to cross the tracks on foot.
Rao estimated that roughly 5,000 people are now paying an extra ₹600 to ₹1,000 each month for transport because of the missing bridge, a cost that he calculated adds up to about ₹100 crore in cumulative losses over the past 20 years.
He also alleged that several pedestrians have been killed and others injured while attempting to cross the railway line under unsafe conditions, even as railway authorities impose penalties on those who trespass the tracks.
The protestors broadened their criticism to include other stalled infrastructure projects in the Vijayawada Central constituency, such as a second flyover at Ajit Singh Nagar, a railway bridge at Rajarajeswaripeta, the Madhuranagar bridge, and an unfinished flyover structure at Gunadala, questioning why neither the railway nor state departments have acted despite the NDA’s control of both the centre and Andhra Pradesh state governments.